Today, we made the short drive west on Hwy 64 to look at Solomon's Castle located in Ona, FL. Clicking on the title of this blog entry should take your browser to Solomon Castle's home page.
The castle and all other buildings are the creation of Howard S Solomon. He is an accomplished artist and sculptur who recycles just about anything into his artistic creations. Touring the castle gave us a chance to view his gallery on the main floor as well some of the living quarters on the upper floors. The gleaming exterior is made of the printing plates discarded by the local weekly newspaper. There are more than 80 interpretations of stained glass windows throughout Solomon's Castle. Some of them are quite impressive.
The gallery contains many sculptures, most created from such discarded items as, oil drums, tuna fish cans, lawn mower engines, beer cans, mechanical parts of all shapes and sizes, etc. Our guide gave us a very enjoyable tour which featured some very witty, and sometimes quite corny, plays on words. Referring to the instrument seen here on the table, our guide asked if anyone played a musical instrument. Piano, horn, etc were among the replies. Then holding this instrument for all to see, she quipped, "Does anyone know how to 'tune-a-can"! 
We also enjoyed an excellent lunch at the on site Boat in Moat restaurant. All home style cooking which was very good. From the amount of people there for lunch, word has definitely got out that they serve good food here.
We toured around the grounds for about an hour afterwards and then headed for home. This tree was huge and had to be at least 4 feet across. Not sure what type of tree it is. Cypress perhaps, and Florida is covered in them.
Sarah has had a good visit. She will leave more tanned than when she arrived, albeit with a little heat rash as well. Something to tide her over for the remaining spring months in Halifax. We'll be on the road to Tampa very early in the morning.
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